Method and drying kiln for drying lumber



2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR CARL JOHAN I LJENSTR6M BY HIS ATTORNEYS Dec. 11, 1956 c. J. LILJENSTROM METHOD AND DRYING KILN FOR DRYING LUMBER Filed July 21, 1953 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 flv \\\S N wmfim?JTJTJT J JWJT fiMPKw LIL a J. .l

INVENTOR CARL JOHAN LI LJENSTR'O'M BY ms ATTORNEYS WW nited States Patent METHOD AND DRYING KlLN FOR DRYING LUMBER Carl Johan Liljenstriim, Stockholm, Sweden, assignor to AB Svenska Flaktfabrikeu, Stockholm, Sweden Application July 21, 1953, Serial No. 369,336 Claims priority, application Finland July 26, 1952 4 Claims. (Cl. 34-209) The present invention relates to an improved method and drying kiln for drying lumber of the kind where the drying goods are conveyed in a direction countercurrent to the drying medium, usually air. It is prior known to put the drying goods in the drying kiln through an opening in the end wall of the kiln with the length of the drying goods placed transversely with respect to the direction of conveyance. The inlet opening in the end wall of the kiln must then be very great with a width up to 7 meters and a height of about 3 meters. A kiln construction having such a great width involves certain disadvantages. Thus it is always disadvantageous to use doors of substantial width. It is also diflicult to seal doors having a large area and there will occur heat losses by leakage. Thus it is not possible to effect as good heat insulation in doors of the described dimensions as in rigid walls. in this event there will occur heat losses caused by transmission of heat passing the poorly insulated door.

It is an object of the invention to eliminate the above mentioned disadvantage. According to the invention the drying goods are conveyed into the drying kiln with the end of the goods foremost, said drying goods being conveyed through the drying kiln with the length of the goods transversely with respect to the direction of conveyance and being discharged from the drying kiln with the end of the drying goods foremost. By these steps it will be possible to have inlet and outlet openings in the drying kiln of rather small dimensions.

Another object of the invention relates to a drying kiln provided with an inlet opening for the drying goods in the side wall of the drying kiln and adjacent to the end Wall of said kiln and provided with an outlet opening also in the side wall of the drying kiln and adjacent to the other end wall.

With these and other objects in view the invention consists of certain novel features in the method of the construction and which will be hereinafter more fully described and pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings are shown the preferred form of the invention.

Fig. 1 is a part of a drying kiln in horizontal section.

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section along the line A-A in Fig. 1.

Referring to the figures by characters of reference 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 designate a number of drying chambers. 7 is an inlet opening arranged in the side wall 8 of the drying chamber adjacent to the end Wall 9. The inlet opening 7 is common to the two drying chambers 1 and 2. 10 stands for an outlet opening which is located in the side Wall 11 of the drying chamber 2 adjacent to the end wall 12. Traversing rails 13 are used for the feeding of drying 2,773,315 Patented Dec. 11, 1956 goods into the drying chambers. The drying goods are transported in the drying chambers on a roller way 14 extending through the chamber to the opposite end and are discharged along traversing rails 15.

In the illustrated embodiment there are two drying chambers arranged side by side with their inlet openings 7 on a common line and their outlet openings 10 on another line. The other portions of the drying kiln, each of which comprises two drying chambers, are, as is evident from Fig. l, mututally displaced or off-set longitudinally in the same direction.

The passage Way for the medium in the drying kiln is illustrated with arrows in Fig. 2. 16 represents a fan which partly is sucking air through an opening into a channel 18, which opening is provided with an outdoor valve 17 and partly circulates the air in the drying kiln. The fan 16 is pressing air through a heater 19 and from this point of the drying kiln through the drying goods from the end 29 of the drying kiln to the opposite end 21. The wet air is partly conducted away through an opening in the end 21 of the drying kiln, which opening is provided with a wet air valve 22. At the same time the drying goods is continuously conveyed from the end 21 to end 20 in countercurrent to the circulating air. The drying process is governed by adjustments of the outdoor valve 17 and the wet air valve 22.

in the above described embodiment two doors having a height of 3 meters and a width of about 7 meters are replaced by only one door with a height of 3 meters and a width of 2 meters. This has been possible by placing the door in accordance with the invention in the side wall of the drying kiln adjacent to the end wall. The previous mentioned disadvantages have thus been eliminated.

The preferred form of the invention has been set forth in the foregoing description but I do not limit myself thereto, as i am aware that modifications maybe made therein Without departing from the spirit or sacrificing the advantages thereof, and I therefore reserve the right to make such changes as fairly fall within the 'scope of the claims.

Whatl claim is:

1. In a drying plant a series of generally rectangular drying chambers for drying elongated articles, means for circulating a drying medium through each chamber, an intake door in one side wall of each chamber adjacent the end wall thereof for longitudinally advancing the articles into said chamber to dispose them transversely thereof, means to laterally advance said articles through the length of said chamber, and a discharge door in the opposite side Wall of said chamber adjacent the other end wall thereof to longitudinally withdraw said articles from the chamber, adjacent chambers in said. series having no communication with one another and being offset longitudinally to expose the intake door at the one end of one chamber and the discharge door at the other end of the adjacent member.

2. A plant according to claim 1 wherein the one side wall of said one chamber comprises the opposite side wall of said adjacent chamber.

3. A plant according to claim 2 wherein said circulating means comprises a conduit disposed longitudinally of each chamber in fiuid communication with the opposite ends thereof, a circulating fan in said conduit to effect said circulation of the drying medium, and heater means adjacent said fan to heat the circulating drying medium.

4 In a drying plant, a Se ies of spaced parallel side walls, a pair- 0f end walls between each pair of adjacent side walls defining therebetween a generally rectangular drying chamber for drying goods, each said chamber being independent of and having no communication with adjacent chambers and the end Walls of adjacent chambers being oifset longitudinally of the side Walls to provide a stepwise arrangement of drying chambers, an intake door in each side wall disposed between the offset end walls at one end of the chambers to afford admission of 10 the drying goods into the chamber at one side of said side wall, and a discharge door in said side Wall disposed between the oifset end walls at the opposite ends of the chambers to afford discharge of the drying goods from the adjacent chamber at the other side of said side wall.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 704,286 Allis July 8, 1902 1,228,790 Lambert June 5, 1917 1,266,461 Hammond May 14, 1918 1,328,396 Rea et al. Jan. 20, 1920 1,353,591 Hope et al. Sept. 21, 1920 1,684,627 Hope et al. Sept. 18, 1928 1,742,652 Goodwillie Jan. 7, 1930 

